“I command 120 female soldiers. I’m responsible for everything the soldiers need- from medical to personal affairs, and making sure each soldier follows the training schedule and understands the mission,” explained Cpt. Dar.

Captain Dar is a company commander in the Combat Hummer Operator Unit. She’s been in the unit for five and a half years and loves what she does. The unit plays a crucial role operating Hummers in order to tactically train different kinds of ground units.

The main objective of the Combat Hummer Operator Unit

The essence of the unit is to train commanders of tanks and armored vehicles in order to better improve their tactical skills. The unit does this by operating the Hummers as enemy tanks or armored vehicles within exercises. It’s more cost-efficient to substitute Hummers for tanks every once in a while, and additionally, Hummers can better navigate certain areas of the field than tanks or armored vehicles due to their smaller size.

A unique unit

Except for three people, this is an entirely female unit – 300 women to be exact. They train almost the entire ground force, reservists included. And they’ve even trained Maglan, a special forces unit in the Commando Brigade.

The challenge

The biggest challenge the soldiers face is the trainings because they’re very intense. They last for a week in the field and the soldiers must continue at a constant, high level of energy no matter the weather conditions.

A combat hummer operator’s guide to success

Friendship goes a long way in the Combat Hummer Operator Unit.

“If you ask any of the girls, they would say that they’re there for their friends and would do anything to help them finish whatever task or mission is at hand,” explains Capt. Dar.

There’s a strong sense of friendship because these women are together in their entire army service- from basic training all the way to the end. They truly value friendship and it shows in their successful end-results.